Time Series Observations and Recent Anomalies of the Sea Surface Temperatures in the Cilician Basin

Abstract Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is one of the fundamental physical oceanographic parameters to understand, determine and predict ocean-atmosphere interactions. SST defines and influences local and global climate regimes, oceanic and atmospheric circulation, weather patterns, and regional phenomena. Almost ninety per cent of the additional heat energy caused by greenhouse gasses is absorbed by the ocean. Compared to the pre-industrial era, the mean annual SST of the Mediterranean Sea is increased by about 1.0 ℃, especially with a higher rate in the last decades. Since the 1990s, a gradually increasing trend of SST was observed in the Mediterranean Sea, while the highest SST warming was recorded in the Levantine Basin of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The fifth-generation atmospheric reanalysis (ERA5) data sets of the European Centre of the Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) and the time-series of observational meteorological data sets of the Kyrenia Meteorological Station are used. This study aimed to compare and validate the reanalysis and observational data sets and analyse SST trends in the southern Cilician Basin between 1995 and 2020. Our results revealed about 1.1 ℃ of SST warming in the region during the last 25 years. The annual mean SST was calculated as ~ 22.20 ℃. Continuous positive SST anomalies, recorded since 2010, are another significant outcome of the study, which shall be crucial for monitoring and predicting future climatic events.